My friend Peter was kind and lovely. But as a student, he was bad at math, English and science because he didn't have an aptitude(资质)for that kind of study.
One day we were playing football and the ball got stuck in a tree. Peter climbed the tree to get it, and one of the teachers, John Marston was looking out of the window, noticed that he was a talented climber. Mr Marston was an expert (专家)in climbing. He had climbed many mountains.
One weekend Mr Marston invited Peter to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Peter really enjoyed the climbing. Mr Marston told Peter he was a very talented climber for his age. Peter left school three years later with no qualifications (毕业证)，but he kept climbing regularly until he became very good at it. In his early twenties, he became a professional climber. He said, “I’ll always remember Mr Marston because he showed me I had an ability which no one else, including me, knew about."Did Peter know he had an ability to climb at first?
_____________________________________.Which subject was Peter not good at?
_________________________________.When did Peter and Mr Marston climb Mount Kilimanjaro?
_________________________________.
Where in the world can you take an hour’s train ride, and pass a forest, a London street, a scene from the Wild West, and a burning building that never burns down? There’s only one place, and that’s Hollywood, in California. The scenes you see from the tourist train are film sets（布景） in the Universal Studios, one of the oldest and largest movie companies(公司) in the USA.
A visit to Universal Studios brings back memories of great days of Hollywood, the films and the stars. But they are only memories. Hollywood isn’t quite the same as it used to be. Costs have gone up and confidence has gone down. Movie-makers are afraid to spend their money on expensive new ideas. Instead, they repeat old ones.
The film industry is changing fast. Teenagers still go out to the movies. The theatre is a good place to meet friends away from home. But older people mostly stay home to watch series, like Dynasty have become as important to Hollywood as expensive movies. These “soap opera”, as they are called, show rich, powerful families living in beautiful homes and wearing beautiful clothes. But the actors and actresses are nearly all middle-aged, like many of the people who watch them.
Though it is soap operas that are keeping the film-makers of Hollywood in Business, big films are still being made in America. But more and more of them are made outside Hollywood. New York is the most important new center, but there are many others as well. Movie-makers have realized that they don’t need Hollywood any more. Modern cameras and real houses instead of expensively made copies in a studio. Other states, especially Florida and Texas, are working hard to take the film business away from California. They are offering better working conditions and lower cost.
But Hollywood is fighting back. The state of California is trying hard to keep its best-known industry.From the passage, we know Universal Studios is ______.
| A．a very large park | B．a busy London street |
| C．a famous movie company | D．an old Hollywood movie |
The movie industry in California isn’t as successful as before because ______.
| A．young people don’t go to movie theatres any more |
| B．there is strong competition from other states |
| C．its movie companies are in neeed of young stars |
| D．the state hasn’t put a development plan into action |
Which of the following seems to be a threat（威胁）to Hollywood？
| A．The use of modern cameras and other equipment |
| B．The interest of middle-aged film stars |
| C．The making of TV series like Dynasty |
| D．The expensively made copies of scenes |
The Guidance Department （教导处）at Berryville High School has a staff of eleven teachers. Most of their work is done with the students. But the staff sees a lot of parents, too.
“Parents meetings make clear monthly diagram（图表）.”says Mildred Freman, head of the Guidance. “This diagram stays much the same from year to year. The busy months are October, March and May. ”
September, the beginning of a new school year, starts rather slowly. Few parents come in. Most of these want to talk about the schedules. October brings many problems caused by some students. Some parents are called in. Others come by themselves. Things quiet down in November. December is a quiet month. “It’s the holiday. ”Ms Foreman says, “People want to come in, I know, but they decide to wait until after New Year’s Day.”
Report cards go home just before Christmas holidays. Bad marks bring parents in as school opens again. This happens again in March, another report card month. May is always the year’s busiest month. That’s when parents begin to think that their children may be asked to stay in the same grade again. They come in to see if anything can be done before things are decided in June. The teachers in the Guidance Department usually ______.
| A．do most of their work for the students |
| B．answer all the questions from parents |
| C．help other teachers get along with students and parents |
| D．only bring report cards to students and parents |
In December parents usually ______.
| A．stay at home with their children for their holidays |
| B．wait for the teachers to bring report cards to their children |
| C．wouldn’t like to visit the teachers in the Guidance Department |
| D．let teachers have a good rest during their holidays |
Why do some parents come to school in March? Because ______.
| A．they want to see their children’s teachers after Christmas holidays |
| B．they are called by the teachers of Guidance Department |
| C．bad marks have them do it |
| D．it’s the beginning of a new school year |
Which of the following is Right?
| A．In June the school decides who will stay in the same grade again. |
| B．Almost all the parents come to meet Mildred Foreman every month. |
| C．April is also the second busiest month for the staff. |
| D．The parents help to do most of the work for the staff. |
You want to know about my staying in America, right? Well, to tell you the truth, it is really an eye-opening experience to study here.
In China, I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade. However, I didn’t know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School, Connecticut.
When I first studied English, I was told to say,” I am fine” when people say “How are you?” But in the US, I found that people say, “I am good” or “I’m tired”.
One day, someone greeted me with “What’s up?” It made me confused . I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn’t know what to say.
Since then, I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures.
To my surprise, US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan(晒黑). However, in China, girls try every possible way to get their skin paler, or “whiter”.
I was also surprised by how hardworking US students are. In China, schoolwork is almost everything, so we study hard and that’s it. But here, a “good” student gets good grades, does a lot for the public and plays sports or music.
The kids here are so talented, I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports. What does the word “confused” in the fourth paragraph mean in Chinese ?
| A．困惑 | B．憧憬 | C．悲痛 | D．后悔 |
A good US student spends his / her time ______ .
| A．only in doing homework |
| B．on studies, sports or music and public work |
| C．only in working for the public |
| D．only on sports or music |
Which of the following is NOT true ?
| A．The writer is now in US. |
| B．American girls love to have white skin. |
| C．US students are talented and hard working. |
| D．The writer regrets that he gave up playing the piano. |
Jeff Keith has only one leg. When he was 12 years old ，Jeff had cancer . Doctors had to cut off most of his right leg.
Every day Jeff puts on an artificial(人造的)leg. The leg is plastic. With the plastic leg Jeff can ski ，ride a bicycle ，swim and play soccer. He can also run.
Jeff made a plan with his friends who had plastic legs, too. They decided to run across America. They all wore special T-shirts. On it was “Run ,Jeff, Run ,Jeff Keith's Run Across America.”
When he was 22 years old，Jeff Keith ran across the United States from the east to the west. He started running in Boston. Seven months later ，he stopped running in Los Angeles . He ran 3200 miles. Jeff wore out 36 pairs of running shoes and five plastic legs. Jeff stopped in cities on the way to Los Angeles. In every city people gave Jeff money .The money was not for Jeff ，but for American Cancer Society .The Society used the money to know more about cancer .
On the way to Los Angeles Jeff talked to people about cancer. Jeff is disabled ，but he can do many things. He finished college and is studying to be a lawyer .Jeff says, “People can do anything they want to do .I want people to know that I ran not only for disabled people ，I ran for everybody.”Jeff's right leg was cut off because of the______.
A.TBB. an accident C. cancerD. hurtJeff's friends ran across America with him .They all have no ______
| A．T-shirts | B．legs | C．shoes | D．bicycles |
The sentence “I ran for everybody ”means ______
| A．he wants to get more artificial legs |
| B．people can do anything they want to |
| C．some disabled men will become lawyers |
| D．disabled people can also run |
"Can I see my baby?" asked the happy new mother. When the baby was in her arms, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The baby was born without ears.
Time proved(证明) that the baby’s hearing was very good though he had no ears. He got on well with his classmates. But one day, he said to his mother, tears in his eyes, "A big boy called me a freak (畸形的)."
The boy’s father asked the family doctor. "Could nothing be done?"
"I believe I could graft (植入) on a pair of outer ears if they could be got," the doctor said. They tried to find a person who was helpful for the young man.
One day, his father said to the son, "You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But we must keep it a secret who the person is."
The operation(手术) was a great success, and a new person appeared. His cleverness and hard work made him a very successful person. He married and lived a happy life.
He once asked his father, "Who gave me the ears? I could do enough for him or her."
"I do not believe you could, "said the father." The agreement was that you are not to know...not yet."
For years they kept it a secret, but the day did come. He stood with his father over his mother’s body. Slowly, the father raised the thick, brown hair. To his surprise, the son found his mother had no outer ears.
"Mother said she was glad she never needed to cut her hair," his father said in a low voice, "and nobody ever thought mother less beautiful, did they?”The mother was surprised to see her baby for the first time because the baby__.
| A．had no outer ears | B．was born without hair |
| C．was in her arms | D．could not hear her |
The sentence"...a new person appeared." means"______."
| A．a new baby was born in the hospital | B．a stranger came into the hospital |
| C．a new doctor took care of the boy | D．the boy began to live a new life |
Why did the boy’s mother never cut her hair?
| A．Because she liked her thick, brown hair. |
| B．Because her work didn’t allow her to do that |
| C．Because the hair was good for her health |
| D．Because she wanted to keep the fact a secret |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The boy couldn’t hear without ears at first. |
| B．The boy didn’t know the truth (真相) until his mother died. |
| C．His parents often encouraged him to work hard. |
| D．His classmates were always making fun of him. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Clever Boy | B．Kind Parents | C．Great Love | D．An Ear Operation |